savaytse66
Bronze Member
Well, I bit the bullet and bought a new BX25 last week. After getting prices from three local dealers and a couple non-local dealers, I landed a price of just over $18,000 locally for the tractor with a 54" MMM and filled rear turf tires. And I sold my 2001 G2160 garden tractor for $4,750, which is about half of what I paid 9 years ago once you factor in attachments. So all in all, with 72 month financing, I'm pretty happy with the purchase.
The hardest part of the deal was not having any time to play with it for two or three days after purchasing. Since I had no experience with a tractor like this, and I had never operated an FEL or backhoe, I wasn't sure what to expect. My dealer spent about an hour with me when he delivered it; he showed me how to remove and re-attach the implements, showed me how to operate it, etc. But it wasn't until two days later that I actually could spend some time on it.
My first project is to remove a small wood retaining wall and re-build it in another part of my yard. The wall had a planting area behind it that needs to come out to make room for a garage addition. So I thought this would be a good place to start playing.
The backhoe is really easy to operate, but there is going to be a little bit of a learning curve before the controls become completely intuitive. Same for the FEL, but not quite as much. The FEL picked up relatively loose dirt and driveway stones with ease, and the BH didn't even flinch when I dug out some of the soil. I can tell I'm really going to like these implements.
Yesterday, I finally had the chance to remove both the FEL and BH. It really couldn't be much easier. It was the first time I even attempted it, and it only took about 10 - 15 minutes total. A few of the quick connects on the hoses were a little tight, but I imagine they'll loosen a little over time. Hopefully they're just as easy to re-mount.
The mower deck was the most difficult thing to mount and dismount. It's not hard, per say, just very awkward and heavy. Kubota apparently hasn't changed the mower mounting since at least 2001, because it's the same as my G2160 was.
I had a few hiccups cutting grass, but nothing major. Once the mower deck was re-mounted, I thought I'd just fire it up and start cutting. However, the throttle lever near the steering wheel was not sticking in the open position. I could move the throttle lever, but once I let go, it would quickly drift back to around 2,200 RPM. So I had to get behind the screen and adjust the friction nuts underneath, but it was no big deal. Once I got going though, the mower seemed to do a pretty nice job. The grass wasn't too tall though, and I had the height set to around 3, so I didn't get the full effect of a freshly cut lawn. I did find that the ROPS were a little too tall to get under some tree branches, so i'll probably cut grass with them down. I don't have any hills to worry about, and I never had ROPS on the G2160. But maybe I'll just cut the branches off. I don't know yet.
I found the ride around the yard to be quite bumpy, but we had a bit of a mole/vole problem, so I think the ground is just more uneven than usual (anyone have advice on how to flatten the yard?). Maybe it's a combination of that and the filled tires. I'm sure I'll get a better feel for it soon.
After about 4 total hours, I'm quite pleased with the machine. The only complaint I have is that turning the seat around to switch between FEL and BH can become annoying, but it's a minor gripe. Until I get used to all the controls, I can live with that. Otherwise, this thing will do anything I ever ask of it on my 1 acre lot, I'm sure of it. I'm looking forward to getting the retaining wall down so I can move more than just a bucket or two of dirt.
Thanks for all of the good information that led me to my decision!
Chris
The hardest part of the deal was not having any time to play with it for two or three days after purchasing. Since I had no experience with a tractor like this, and I had never operated an FEL or backhoe, I wasn't sure what to expect. My dealer spent about an hour with me when he delivered it; he showed me how to remove and re-attach the implements, showed me how to operate it, etc. But it wasn't until two days later that I actually could spend some time on it.
My first project is to remove a small wood retaining wall and re-build it in another part of my yard. The wall had a planting area behind it that needs to come out to make room for a garage addition. So I thought this would be a good place to start playing.
The backhoe is really easy to operate, but there is going to be a little bit of a learning curve before the controls become completely intuitive. Same for the FEL, but not quite as much. The FEL picked up relatively loose dirt and driveway stones with ease, and the BH didn't even flinch when I dug out some of the soil. I can tell I'm really going to like these implements.
Yesterday, I finally had the chance to remove both the FEL and BH. It really couldn't be much easier. It was the first time I even attempted it, and it only took about 10 - 15 minutes total. A few of the quick connects on the hoses were a little tight, but I imagine they'll loosen a little over time. Hopefully they're just as easy to re-mount.
The mower deck was the most difficult thing to mount and dismount. It's not hard, per say, just very awkward and heavy. Kubota apparently hasn't changed the mower mounting since at least 2001, because it's the same as my G2160 was.
I had a few hiccups cutting grass, but nothing major. Once the mower deck was re-mounted, I thought I'd just fire it up and start cutting. However, the throttle lever near the steering wheel was not sticking in the open position. I could move the throttle lever, but once I let go, it would quickly drift back to around 2,200 RPM. So I had to get behind the screen and adjust the friction nuts underneath, but it was no big deal. Once I got going though, the mower seemed to do a pretty nice job. The grass wasn't too tall though, and I had the height set to around 3, so I didn't get the full effect of a freshly cut lawn. I did find that the ROPS were a little too tall to get under some tree branches, so i'll probably cut grass with them down. I don't have any hills to worry about, and I never had ROPS on the G2160. But maybe I'll just cut the branches off. I don't know yet.
I found the ride around the yard to be quite bumpy, but we had a bit of a mole/vole problem, so I think the ground is just more uneven than usual (anyone have advice on how to flatten the yard?). Maybe it's a combination of that and the filled tires. I'm sure I'll get a better feel for it soon.
After about 4 total hours, I'm quite pleased with the machine. The only complaint I have is that turning the seat around to switch between FEL and BH can become annoying, but it's a minor gripe. Until I get used to all the controls, I can live with that. Otherwise, this thing will do anything I ever ask of it on my 1 acre lot, I'm sure of it. I'm looking forward to getting the retaining wall down so I can move more than just a bucket or two of dirt.
Thanks for all of the good information that led me to my decision!
Chris
